Monday, February 18, 2008 Construction of hall has council's consent
ALTHOUGH it recognizes the Local Government Code provision that no government office should be transferred outside its jurisdiction, the Cebu City Council has consented to the construction of Barangay Kasambagan’s multi-purpose building inside Barangay Sambag I’s territory.
The body gave weight to the argument that construction of the building was “temporary,” and that the building would be transferred back inside the barangay’s turf in the event that the condition is no longer met.
It was agreed that the multi-purpose building will be vacated once the student population of the City Central School, where the building is, exceeds the ratio set by the Department of Education (DepEd).
The council approved all recommendations presented by the committee on laws, ordinances, public accountability and good government last Wednesday.
Among them is for the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to take note of the committee’s observations and for it to also make its own comment, evaluation and recommendation on the matter.
Complain
Sambag I officials complained that the building encroached on their territory when it was built inside the City Central School premises.
In a resolution in February last year, Sambag I’s officials said they were shocked to discover a billboard outside the school gate announcing the construction.
Barangay Captain Jerry Guardo said there was no negotiation between them and Kalubihan’s barangay council members before the project was implemented.
Complications
Guardo had said that while they acknowledged Kalubihan’s need to construct the building, they could not allow it to be built inside the school because of complications that may arise later on.
Kalubihan badly needed a site to construct the building, which would also serve as barangay hall.
The lot is owned by the City Government and Mayor Tomas Osmeña already gave his consent for the construction, and the DepEd also gave its conditional approval.
The committee on laws, which City Councilor Edgardo Labella heads, said the construction should be governed by Section 11 (b) of the Local Government Code, which states that the “‘selection and transfer of local government site, offices, and facilities’ should not be made ‘outside the territorial boundaries of the LGU concerned’.”
The case of the Capitol inside Cebu City is different, it said, since the structure was already there even before Cebu became an independent and later a highly urbanized city. (RHM)
